Unit 1 Vocab Test - AP PSYCHOLOGY

Control Group

This group receives a zero-level of the independent variable

Median

The point that divides the distribution in half when the individual scores are arranged in order from lowest to highest

Double Blind Study

Neither the participants nor the research assistants collecting the data will know which group is receiving the treatment

Sampling Bias

Subtle and unintentional ways researchers influence their participants

Experiment

This method used to find cause-and-effect relationships

Hunger = “hours without eating” / Generosity = “money contributed”

Operational Definition

The results being observed are not likely due to chance

Statistical Significance

A procedure in which each member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study

Random Sampling

Standard Deviation

This measure of variation gauges whether scores are tightly packed or dispersed

Replication

Repeating a previous study’s scientific procedures using different participants in an attempt to duplicate the findings

A may cause B, B may cause A, or C may cause both A and B

Third Variable Problem

Placebo

A drug that has no pharmacological effect (a sugar pill)

Correlation Coefficient

A statistic that shows the direction and strength between two variables

Placebo Effect

Just thinking you are getting a treatment can boost your spirits, relax your body, and relieve your symptoms

Confounding Variable

Two variables are intertwined in such a way that we cannot determine which one has influenced a dependent variable

Case Study

An in-depth analysis of an individual, group, or event

Scatterplot

The correlation between two variables may be depicted on this graph

Mode

The most frequently occurring score in a data set

Independent Variable

In an experiment, the factor that is manipulated by the experimenter

Random Assignment

A control procedure that allows the experimenter to be relatively confident that the observed outcome is due to the independent variable